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CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – The water main break on Montgomery Street caused headaches for drivers and residents, but there is some good news, the DPW workers have fixed the broken water main.

The 16-inch transmission water pipe broke at about 3:00 Monday morning on Montgomery Street, near the intersections of Ivy and Irwin Streets. Alan Starzyk of the Chicopee Water Department told 22News the city lost about 625,000 gallons of water when the main broke. He says that as crews work to make the repairs, about 200-300 homes in the Aldenville section of Chicopee, as well as on lower Montgomery Street heading toward Willimansett, lost their water.

22News spoke with Water Department Superintendent Al Starzyk. He said the broken main has been patched up, and the workers are now putting the water back into the water main. Residents can expect to have their water back soon, but he warns, if you want to test your faucet, always test with the cold water, not your hot water.

According to Starzyk, “If you try to use your hot water and you lost any hot water, it’s going to be trying that cold water that may be discolored, that may have sediments in it, it’s going to send that cold water into your hot water system, by doing that, again, it could damage your hot water system.”

Starzyk explained when they put water back into an empty water main, it can carry dirt and other debris settled at the bottom of the pipe, and you don’t want the debris in your hot water system.

“There are two rules of thumb. Either you let the water run or you stop running the water. And by doing that you’re allowing that sediment to kind of settle into the bottom of the water main itself,” Starzyk added.